The Michigan Daily -- michigandaily.com November 2, 2009 - 3B Th Mici- a Dil - i ..aiyo N vmbr2 "20 """ "3 """" GAME STATISTICS JUICE From page 1lB TeamStats First Downs Rush/Yds PassingYards Comp/At/Int Offensive Pays Kick returns/Yds Punt returns/ Yds Punts/Ayg Fumbles/Lost Penalties/Yards Timeof Ross PASSING Player Frier Robinson, Denad RTEM totals RUSIENG Payer SmithVewst sinor . Totals REUEIING Player N Hemiygra Bown Carlos PavNI TotalE Player N Mastk. Krownvarosan Total Player Player Williams Ml Warrnkn Van Bta llinois h 20 56/337 123 8/11/0 67 NRA 3/48 0/0 5/38.2 3/U 4/36 35:06 M I C H I G A N C"A Yds 13/23 257 t/1 7 14:2 264 Michigan 17 43/113 264 14/24/0 67 377 3/65 3/39 3/37.3 4/3 3/39 24:54 secondary coach Tony Gibson said. "I mean, I don't know what to tell you other than that." Michigan fluidly contained Williams in the first half. Four Wolverines - defensive end Brandon Graham, defen- sive tackle Ryan Van Bergen, middle linebacker Kevin Leach and linebacker Stevie Brown - sacked Williams in the first half for an impressive minus- 35 yards. That was four more sacks than Michigan tallied last sea- son against Illinois. But when Illinois changed from a zone read in the first half to a more open scheme, things began to unravel for the Wolverines. "That comes down to guys not having their gaps, something technical, some kind of techni- cal error," sophomore nose tackle Mike Martin said. "I know they changed their running game to not as much of a read. They were just hitting the gaps, and we were doing real well against them try- ing to read against us." The switch worked for the Illi- ni, as they rushed for 317 yards and passed for 94 yards in the second half. Although defensive coordina- tor Greg Robinson is Michigan's third at the position in the last three seasons, the Wolverines have had trouble controlling mobile quarterbacks for some time. Quarterbacks like Texas's Vince Young, Ohio State's Troy Smith and Oregoh's Dennis Dixon ran over the Wolverines in recent years. But it wasn't as though Michi- gan overlooked Williams and the Illini. All week, the Wolverines noted Williams's talent and rec- ognized the team's record didn't tell the whole story. Of those who endured last year's 3-9 debacle, no one could forget Williams's record- setting afternoon. Even after Saturday's loss at Memorial Stadium, last year's defeat was still fresh. "We had a lot of payback from last year in our stadium, so we wanted to give it back to them in their stadium," Graham said. "I mean, a loss is a loss, but it hurt to lose to Illinois." TD 0 0 Att 25 11 3 1 2 t 43 Yds 94 40 3 0 "6 .2 154 2.6 1.0 0.0 12.3 43.5 70 18.9 17 16 176 int 0 1 0 0 TO 1 0 0 0 0 a 1 To 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Leach, Graham turn in solid efforts in an otherwise woeful 'D' performance No. Yds 4 42 3 37 3 34 2 87 1 7 l 7 14 264 No. Yds Avg Lg 3 112 37.3 50 3 112 A s7 3 N No. Yds Avg Lg TD 1 33 33 33 0 No. Yds Avg Lg2 T 1 26 26.0 26 0 3 39 13.0 12 0 Solo Asst Tot 5 11 16 3 8 11 4 4 a 4 3 7 5 1 6 4 2 6 1 4 5 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 0 2 2 0 2 1 1 2 0 2 2 0 2 2 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 38 44 82 Penn State C-A Yds TO 8.11 123 1 6.11 123 1 Former walk-on tallies 11 tackles in second start of the season By COURTNEY RATKOWIAK Daily SportsEditor CHAMPAIGN - He ran around the outside, straight at the quarterback, as if he had done it every game this season. But it was linebacker Kevin Leach's first sack - the first from a non-defensive lineman all year, in fact. With the Illinois line staying with its blocks and Juice Williams unable to find a receiver, Leach met Williams with a vengeance to force a nine- yard loss. It was hard to find a feel-good story in the Wolverines' embar- rassing loss, but Leach's 11 tack- les Saturday were solid after the coaches decided to start the for- mer walk-on over defensive vet- eran Obi Ezeh. "We're trying to, well, we thought they were going to do more spread, and they did," Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez said. "Kevin's pretty athletic." But in his next breath, Rodri- guez talked about the ineptness of his defense instead of attempt- ing to further explain the per- sonnel decision. "Obviously, we didn't play well defensively," he contin- ued. "Missed tackles are upset- ting. Probably more upsetting to me is when the ball is laying on the ground, and it seems like it's there for an eternity and we weren't able to get on it." Leach earned a scholarship about two weeks before the beginning of the season. Against Eastern Michigan, he started at weak-side linebacker after the on the play." That gave Michigan a chance to narrow Illinois's lead for pride's sake, if nothing else. But judging from Michigan's red- zone conversions up to that point - one touchdown in six trips inside the 20-yard line - getting in the end zone was statistically looking like a longshot. And it was. Graham's blocked punt was his second in two games, with his block against Penn State coming in the third quarter with the Wolverines down by 22. And just like in last week's game, the Wolverines squandered the good field posi- tion by immediately turning the ball over. This time, it was courtesy of quarterback Tate Forcier, who ran on first down and fumbled to end the drive. Forcier finished the game with three fumbles (two lost), and Illinois rubbed the win in the Wolverines' faces a few plays later with a 79-yard touchdown run. Graham finished the game with seven tackles and one sack, bringing his career sacks total to 25 and passing former Wolverine James Hall (1996-99) for second place on Michigan's all-time sacks list. But as his individual accomplishments continue to be overshadowed by the team's fail- ures, he hasn't found much con- solation in his play. "It just hurt," Graham said, echoing his mantra during this season's other three losses. "We're just trying to get to a bowl and we're trying to finish strong, and I'm gonna make sure we go in there and we don't lose focus. "Stuff happens, we lose, wp gotta just take it and run witf it, and you know, just make sure it don't happen again. It just hdrt to keep saying it but it's gonna happen." CLF REEDER/Daily Redshirt sophomore Kevin Leach picked up his second career start this weekend in Michigan's 38-13 loss at Illinois. Int 0 Big Ten suspended starter Jonas Mouton for punching a Notre Dame player the week before. But Leach wasn't even listed on this week's three-deep chart at middle linebacker. Ezeh refused to talk to the media after Saturday's game, which was the first in 29 games he didn't get the starting nod. He ended the game with just one assisted tackle while playing in fourth-quarter garbage time, but he still leads the team in tackles this season with 63. Rodriguez and his team have started two walk-ons this year at crucial defensive positions. The other, walk-on safety Jordan Kovacs, has now started four straight games on the strong side. The practice of starting walk- ons on defense over recruited, scholarship players seems to be turning into a trend - which, even if Leach and Kovacs turn in strong performances, shows in disturbing fashion the vulner- ability of the Wolverines' paper- thin defense. "I think you have to constant- ly coach their mentality, with so many guys playing for the first time in different roles than they've ever been in," Rodriguez said. "But at the end of the day, it's - you've gotta go out there and execute, and as coaches, we have to put them in a position where they can make plays and make it happen, and we're just not doing that the last couple of weeks." One of the only players who has consistently been able to make those plays is senior defen- sive end Brandon Graham. But on his most impressive play of the game - his second blocked punt in two games - the rest of his defense had already sealed the collapse for the Wolverines. With 3:49 left in the game and the Wolverines down 31-13, Gra- ham lunged through the middle to knock the ball down just after Illinois punter Anthony San- telli's foot made contact. The ball bounced backward 26 yards before rolling out of bounds at the 15-yard line. "It just happened, just keep coming and it opened up for me," Graham said of the play. "That's all I think about, just keep com- ing and somebody's gotta get up Att 12 21 56 No. :ngs mes pure i1 Yds 160 131 134 3 .1 428 Yds 51 2 1 1 11 2 123 Avg 10.7 4.6 6.7 Avg 25.5 8 37 14 2.0 L9 TD 79 1 28 1 79 4 Lg 34 4.0 37.0 14.0 11 TD 4 37 14 0 .i PUNTING TEAM Totals KICKOFF RETURNS Player Totals UNTRETURNS Player Total TCLES Aiken Bussey Wilson Nurse Ellngton Wilims, Sirod Williams, A. ellamy Cumberland Hicks Jaes, No. Tds Avg LR 4 11 47.8 6 1 0 0.0 0 5 191 38.2 65 ILLINI ingup on the schedule. From page 1B "I don't want to say it's slip- after the game was long over, ping away, but we're not getting "W e're just redshirt junior linebacker Jonas wins that we should," Woolfolk Mouton could only explain it said. "We're just playing for pride playing for with two words. now. "Definitely shocked," he said. "We know we're not able to pride now," The loss extends Michigan's win the Big Ten. But we still got a W oolfolk said conference skid to four games, chance to go to a bowl - just one leaving the Wolverines still on more win - and if we do that, the brink of bowl eligibility with then it'll be a better season than much tougher competition com- last year." Freshmen expected to play early and often for Michigan No. Yds Avg 1 18 18.0 2 30 15.0 3 48 16.0 18 >0 17 18 0 fl-H,, No. Yds Avg .g TD 0 0 0 0 0 sow 7 8 5 4 4 3 3 1 2 2 1 1 1 i 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Asst 3 1 2 2 1 2 1 2 0 0 1 1 7 i 0 0 1 i 1 1 1 t Tot 10 9 7 6 5 5 4 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 )BIG TEN STANDINGS Team Iowa Penn State Ohio State Wisconsin Minnesota Michigan State Northwestern Purdue Michigan Indiana Illinois ait Ten Overall 5-0 9-0 4-1 8-1 4-1 7-2 3-2 6-2 3-3 5-4 3-3 4-5 2-3 5-4 2-3 3-6 1-4 5-4 1-4 4-5 1-5 2-6 Michigan picked 11th in the Big Ten in preseason polls By AMY SCARANO Daily Sports Writer ROSEMONT, Ill. - There are a lot of question marks and not a lot of answers coming along with the start of the women's basketball team's season. NOTEBOOK But that isn't necessarily a bad thing. The Wolverines went 10-20 last season and are ready to start fresh. Of last season's six return- ing players, just two of them - junior guard Veronica Hicks and senior center Krista Phil- lips - were regular starters. If Michigan wants to improve, Michigan's sophomores will need to step up this year. In addition, the freshman class, led by highly touted guard Day- eesha Hollins, will need to make an impact on the court. "I think Dayeesha Hollins is ready to play," Michigan coach Kevin Borseth said at Big Ten Media Day last week. "I really do. I think she is a kid that you can expect to play and you can expect to do well. I don't think it's fair to put the weight on her shoulders, but I think she is a kid that needs to be played." In past years, Borseth has given freshmen the choice to redshirt if they don't think they are ready to play on the Big Ten stage, but that likely won't be an option this year. "We don't necessarily want to have to count on young kids too often, but we're in that position now in our program," Borseth said. "We don't know who those people are going to be or what they're going to be able to do when the lights come on." With a young roster, the program will be able to build consistency over the next few years. Once the freshmen have a season of experience, Borseth is hoping for big things. "Dayeesha Hollins can deliv- er," Borseth said. "She's not self- ish. We get selfish players, and I teach them to be unselfish so they can make players around them better." BIG SHOES TO FILL: Ashley Jones is back after redshirting her senior season due to a foot injury. She was a team leader even while restrained to the bench last season, but she can now be a much-needed leader on the court, too. "She's definitely a glue play- er," Hicks said. "She helps our program stick together. Losing her last year was like a big blow to us ... She is just someone you can't replace. She is the type of person you really want on your team and she is the type of per- son who helps you build your program." Two years ago, as a junior, Jones averaged 20 points per game and helped the team fin- ish 19-14 overall. "She is really good at taking the ball to the basket," Phillips said. "I think that is something we were really missing is some- one who can really slash to the basket and take it to the hole and finish." THE NUMBERS: The Wolver- ines are ignoring the fact that they are ranked last in both the preseason Big Ten coaches poll and media poll. While teams like Ohio State and Michigan State - ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the conference, are circled on every opponent's calendar, Michigan is skipped over. Nobody else in the league expects big things out of the young team this year. "Any time you bring in young kids, they're wet behind the ears and it's a little more diffi- cult," Borseth said. "So there's going to be some growing pains .,. but we sure got some kids that are going to be able to contrib- ute to our success." Big tn Results Illinois 38, Michigan 13 Ohio State 45, New Mexico State 0 Iowa 42, Indiana 24 Penn State 34, Northwestern 13 Minnesota 42, Michigan State 34 Wisconsin 37, Purdue 0